The Week: Why Is Twitter Punishing Conservatives?

Lots and lots of people love Twitter, and it’s a shame if the platform is being politicized. Because from my vantage point, it seems that the people being banned or punished for vague “violations of terms of service” all seem to come from the same side of the political aisle. In the case of Yiannopoulos, it appears that someone who works at Twitter saw a tweet he didn’t like and reported him internally.

And certainly there’s something to be said about the cowardice, hypocrisy, and lameness of claiming that all you’re doing is protecting against “harassment.” Of course, there are certain kinds of harassment that social platforms should protect against. But when you’re debating politics with someone on a quick-fire online forum, “harassment” is in the eye of the beholder.

I’m sure I’ve said many things to many people on Twitter that could be called “harassment” by some incredibly vague and Orwellian standard. Come to think of it, I can think of a few left-wing bloggers who have said things about me that could definitely count as harassment. (And that’s nothing compared to the countless racist Twitter trolls who every once in a while spam my mentions because I’ve written a couple of columns in favor of immigration reform.)